FM newsroom – property technology, proptech. The pandemic presented the golden age of property technology development and implementation, most recently called the PropTech boom. Given current challenges technology is expected to further flourish and become the industry’s most valuable asset by being able to provide solutions.
Commercial real estate has a reputation for its delayed response to adopting technological advancements – tells Ryan Masiello, Chief Strategy Officer, VTS to Forbes. However, experts agree that the pandemic presented the golden age of property technology development and implementation. The growth is anticipated to be driven by the increasing adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), and virtual reality (VR).
Given current industry challenges such as managing remote and hybrid work environments, and marketing space availability in a competitive tenant-centric market, Masiello believes that the commercial real estate’s relationship with technology will continue to flourish and will ultimately become the industry’s most valuable asset by being able to solve these challenges.
People and properties
The ongoing transformation in work styles requires owners and operators to consistently adjust and enhance their spaces to meet evolving tenant expectations. This adaptability is pivotal in ensuring tenant satisfaction and facilitating lease renewals.
Technology is bridging the gap between people and properties by offering much-needed solutions, including connecting companies to their remote workers, streamlining property marketing and property management operations and collecting data to help better understand the market and be prepared for economic downturns. To change market dynamics, experts need to focus less on forcing employees back to the office and more about meeting them where they decide to work and providing the right kind of convenience-forward experience when they’re in the office, Masiello suggests.
Tenant experience technology has taken centre stage for enhancing employee experience. Specific solutions can simultaneously provide insights for landlords so they can better inform their tenant experience strategies moving forward.
Technology is a critical ally
Collecting data is a top business priority in formulating strategy and operations in the real estate market. According to a recent EY survey, companies that were early adopters of the technology could better capture near-real-time data at scale, which has to be proven critical in navigating the complexities of the current landscape.
Technology has also emerged as a critical ally in relation to property operations, Masiello points out. For property marketing, several solutions are available to support marketing strategies, from content creation—including automating property listings and developing branded marketing collateral—to data analysis for calculating the ROI of marketing efforts.
Technology has always helped industries and their people with their challenges through their innovations. As the commercial real estate sector navigates the headwinds of current market complexities, industry players must continue to embrace technological advances to learn, innovate and perform more optimally.
